Book Review: Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

I was given an Advanced copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Synopsis

Kaia, a girl from a small mountain village, dreams of great adventures, while her girlfriend Maren would much rather live a quiet life. When Kaia is taken from Maren unexpectedly, Maren shocks everyone, including herself, by being willing to travel to the ends of the earth to bring her home. Maren hatches a deadly scheme to steal a young dragon and use it to take on the emperor and anyone else who would dare to keep Kaia from her. During her journey she begins to have dreams of Kaia, that prove that Maren must hurry because Kaia is running out of time.

This book is everything I ever wanted in a YA novel when I was in high school. It has a badass female heroine, a well developed fantasy world and (duh) DRAGONS!

The best thing about this book is that while Maren is an LGBTQ main character, that has 0% to do with the conflict of the story. Seriously 0%. Maren and Kaia are formally together and out in their village and it’s totally normal. When Maren and Kaia get separated and Maren is obviously also attracted to boys but stays true to her missing girlfriend? Also fine. All of the conflict is plot driven and none of it is driven by the fact that Maren is bisexual. I think that’s amazing.

The other reason I love this book is that I bonded with Maren. We are both very similar in that Maren doesn’t long for adventure; Maren was content to live on her mountain in peace. Until her girlfriend was taken away from her, then she’s willing to do whatever’s necessary to get her back. She also recognizes the futility of her actions and the fact that Kaia will likely die before Maren can even get close to her. Maren knows this and yet she refuses to move on, though she has ample opportunity to do so. She remains loyal to Kaia, which I think is such a beautiful thing.

To sum up my review I would like to point out that the author refers to the book as “her angry bisexual dragon book” and I just really appreciate that.

Recommended for

YA fantasy lovers who are looking for a book with: a strong female heroine, an LGBTQ main character, or DRAGONS.

Contraindications/ Cautions

I can’t think of any specific trigger warnings for this book: but if you know of any leave a comment below and I’ll add them!

Side effects

Wishing you had a pet dragon

Really wanting to go and set all the baby dragons free. The fact that the dragons are in captivity makes me really upset.

Wishing you had the sequel to read already!

Final Thoughts

If you are a fan of YA fantasy or looking for a book with a Bisexual protagonist: buy this book! I think it’s amazing and I hope you like it too!

Buy on Amazon

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This includes any purchases you make from amazon after you click on the above link. So if you just buy your normal amazon purchases through my link, you can support me and help me pay of my student loans!

Like this:

Related

Published by doctorsordersbookreviews

I am a fourth-year medical student and a book enthusiast. I decided to create this blog to write reviews of young adult novels and hopefully help readers and/or their parents decide if a book is appropriate to read. I am excited to share my thoughts and an over abundance of personal feelings with fellow book readers!
View all posts by doctorsordersbookreviews